


The Falling Down

by iamjacksblindrage



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, M/M, Mention of blood, Minor Angst, Multi, Pining, Polyamory, Reunions, The Supernatural, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 02:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11704623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamjacksblindrage/pseuds/iamjacksblindrage
Summary: Dan’s life is turned upside down when his partner Brian flees the country in the aftermath of his transformation into a werewolf.  He decides to pick up and move to LA for a fresh start and finds himself falling head over heels for his best friend’s brand new wife.  But what will happen when Brian reinserts himself back into Dan’s life?





	The Falling Down

Coming home from his shitty coffee shop job to find Brian sprawled on the couch, soaked in blood, wasn’t exactly how Dan had anticipated spending his evening.  The physicist’s jeans were shredding from the knee down on his left leg, and the right side of his shirt had a few gaping holes in it, and both seemed to be the sources of most of, if not all the blood.  Brian was staring off into the middle distance, seemingly having not noticed his injuries whatsoever.  He was barely even breathing or blinking, it seemed.  The sight was disconcerting to say the least.

 

“Br.. Brian?  What happened to you?” Dan asks, his voice shaking already.  He sets his keys aside and frowns, eyebrows furrowing deeply.  He was concerned, with every right to be.

 

Gold eyes flash his way and Brian scrambles to put distance between Dan and himself.  He looks frantic, like a cornered animal, like Dan's going to try and hurt him.  Once he  _ realizes _ it’s Dan, though, he relaxes a little, slumps down on the floor.  Dan throws himself across the room to Brian’s side and scoops the man close.  Every inch of his body is shaking as he stares down at his partner.   
  
“Jesus  _ fuck _ , Brian, what happened?!”  Dan cries, hands fluttering over Brian’s body, trying to find the source of all the blood.  He can’t find any active bleeding, though, just finds gnarly, puckered scars where none had been just that morning.  Which...wasn't physically possible.  Those hadn't existed twelve hours ago.   
  
“I was out, in the woods, just, uh.  Just on a walk after class.  Needed to get out and clear my head,” Brian starts, his voice weak and tumultuous.  He’s shaking from head to foot, looks like he’s ready to pass out at any second.  “Something.. Something attacked me, Danny.  Something  _ big _ .  Like a wolf, but...but somehow bigger.  I should be dead right now.  I don’t.. I don’t know how I’m here right now.  I don’t even remember getting home.”

 

“What… What the fuck are you talking about?” Dan exclaims, shaking his head.  “We need to get you to a hospital, dude!  Did you hit your head?”

 

“No!  We can’t!” Brian shouts, the color immediately draining from his face.  He’s bolt upright, gripping at Dan’s shirt with wide, golden eyes and sharp teeth peeking out from behind his curling lip.  “You have to promise me we aren’t.  They’ll think I’m crazy, they’ll fucking lock me away!  We can't go to the hospital!”

 

“Ok, ok!” Dan assured, putting a bit of distance between himself and Brian in fear.  He's never seen Brian so worked up.  “I won’t take you to the hospital, Jesus, at least let me get you cleaned up, alright?”

 

Brian nods, almost reluctantly, and lets Dan guide him off to the bathroom.  Brian pretty much goes catatonic, leaves Dan to put him through the motions of stripping out of his destroyed clothing and getting into the shower.  Watching the blood run off his best friend and swirl down the drain makes Dan’s stomach turn, but he just has to do it, has to get Brian clean and taken care of.  Finally, though, he’s got Brian all tucked up in their bed, and the other man is asleep in an instant.  Dan leaves him to make himself dinner, and he takes some time to unwind before he joins Brian in bed.  Falling asleep next to his partner is the easiest thing in the world.

 

Waking up without Brian next to him was startling, to be honest - there hadn’t been a morning he hadn’t woken up next to Brian in nearly a year.  It’s disorienting as all hell but then he hears the rolling of suitcase wheels and the closing of the door and he’s up and out of bed and pulling the balcony door open, looking down just as Brian exits the building, carting bags along with him.

 

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Dan shouts from his balcony, dressed only in a pair of boxers and one of Brian’s old shirts.  On the street outside his apartment, Brian was standing with his suitcase and a backpack, looking anxiously up and down the street.  Dan can see the way his shoulders are heaving, and when he turns to look up at Dan, four stories up, Dan can tell he’s crying.  Dan’s chest tightens painfully.   
  


“Far away, Dan, somewhere I’m not a danger to you!”  He insists, his voice hitched and cracking.  A cab pulls up, and Brian starts loading his bags into the trunk.  Dan makes a dash for it, sprinting down the stairs of the apartment building, his lungs screaming at him for pushing them this hard, but by the time he’s throwing the front door open, the cab’s already pulling away, turning the corner at the end of the block, out of sight in no time.  Dan screams, absolutely wordless, falling to his knees on the pavement.  His partner in crime has disappeared on him, leaving him all by himself in Brooklyn.  Tears stream down his face and he's not sure if they've popped up because of the emotional betrayal or his freshly scraped and bruising knees.

 

By the time Dan drags himself back upstairs to his apartment, his neighbors are starting to head out for the day, or peek their heads out to investigate the noise.  Dan just keeps his head down, ignores their stares, and just shuts the door firmly behind him.  He doesn’t leave his apartment for days.

 

After two days straight calling Brian to no answer, Dan finds himself looking for jobs and apartments in LA, starts packing all his belongings in the apartment.  Brian’s stuff goes in boxes in Dan’s parents basement, unable to make himself get rid of it, but equally incapable of looking at it any longer.  Debbie tries to fuss, but Dan just shuts down when she pries too deep.  Instead, she just lets go, lets her son do the mourning the way he needs to.  She doesn’t want to, but she also doesn’t want to risk losing her eldest and only son because she was too overbearing.

 

Brian calls him once he's settled, just to let Dan know he's safe.  He won't tell Dan  _ where _ he went, but he just tells him he's safe, he's going to try to figure out his new situation there, and hopefully one day he’ll be able to come back to Danny.  He admits what’s actually happening - during his walk in the woods, he’d been bitten by a werewolf, and just as he feared, the bite had been infectious.  His first moon had been exhausting and terrifying and as much as Brian wished he’d had Danny at his side during the whole thing, he also relays just how hungry and desperate he’d been during the whole thing, and he knows that being with Dan would have only put him at needless risk.  The thought of bringing Danny any harm makes Brian want to be sick.

 

Finding out the attack had been at the hands of a  _ werewolf, _ that the love of his life thought he was dangerous because of something beyond his control made Dan furious.  The fact that fucking supernaturals could exist and get away with hurting humans riled him up, made him want to destroy shit.  Brian left him, turned his life upside down by abandoning him because some stray werewolf had been allowed to run the streets as it pleased.  It changed who he was inside, really.  He couldn’t remember holding onto so much anger for so long, not since he’d been a dramatic teenager, and the more time he spent in New York, the city that had let Brian down, the angrier he got.  It only made him more desperate to get out of there.  He started losing weight and even getting violent on occasion, a side of him coming out that he’d never seen before.  It was a little scary to lose himself so much, but his life was so out of control being stuck in New York that there wasn’t much he could do until he could get away.

 

Finally, though, he gets all his belongs shipped cross country to his new apartment and he makes his way to his flight out of JFK, keeping Arin updated the whole time.

 

‘My flight lands at 4:15 at the A terminal.  I’ll see you then.’

 

‘Sure thing, man.  See you soon.’

 

The flight is long, ungodly long.  JFK to LAX non-stop is just over 6 hours, and Dan hates flying.  The coach seats are cramped and uncomfortable, and with his long legs and less that perfect spine, sitting there for that long made every inch of his body hurt.  Stretching out as he deplaned was nearly as painful as staying seated, and he just grumbles as he makes his way from his gate and down to the luggage claim.  Waiting and waiting, he chooses to stretch, just a bit, arching his back to try and ease the stiffness.   _ Finally _ , though, the luggage starts rolling by and Dan hauls his suitcase off the conveyor.  With the last of his bags, in addition with his carry-on and his backpack, he strides off out of the terminal, looking up and down the drive for Arin.  It takes him a while, but he eventually finds Arin parked along the curb, Suzy sticking her head out the sunroof.  It makes Dan laugh to see the pretty little lady acting goofy like that, but he’s glad to have these people as his friends.  Laughing feels good, as does the sunshine.

 

“Danny!”  Suzy shouted, her grin huge when she spotted Dan’s figure approaching the car.  Arin beeped the horn in greeting.  Suzy ducked down to say something to Arin, something Dan couldn’t hear, before she popped back up in sync with the trunk.  “Throw your shit in, we picked up your keys for you!”

 

Dan can’t help the grin on his face, hauls his bags around to the trunk and then drops himself into the back seat behind Suzy.  “Hey you, how’s she going?”

 

“We’re so fucking stoked to have you out here, dude!” Arin exclaimed, turned to clap his hand in Dan’s.  His grin is massive and crooked, just a little bit antsy.  Dan can tell he’s being genuine.  He's excited to see Arin again.

 

“I’m excited to start over out here, man, really,” Dan responds, shaking his head a little at Arin’s exuberance.  “C’mon, let’s get fucking going, huh?”

 

“We’re gonna swing by your place first,” Suzy explains, turned around in her seat to smile at Dan.  “Your bed hasn’t been delivered yet, so you’re gonna stay in our guest room for the time being, but we figured we’d go by there, let you see the place, ya know?  It’s on our way back anyway.”

 

“You’re so thoughtful, Scuzy,” Dan coos, grinning when she reaches back to bump her little fist against his arm.  Dan stays quiet in the back seat during the long ride, watches the scenery pass until they're pulling up outside a little apartment building.  The neighborhood is a little sketchy, but it was what Dan could afford for the time being.  He’d lived in much worse back in Brooklyn.  Especially before he moved in with Brian, when he couldn't afford jack shit.

 

“We already cleaned up for you,” Suzy hums, unlocking the main doors and guiding Dan towards the elevator.  “And your boxes are already here, you just gotta unpack.”

 

“Jesus, guys, you didn't have to do all this,” Dan mumbles, shakes his head as Suzy unlocks the apartment door and ushers him inside.  It's small, looks even smaller with all of his furniture, short of his bed, and all the boxes crowding the space.  But considering he's no longer sharing space with anyone else, he doesn't exactly need the space.  This should be ample room for him alone.

 

“I can't wait to introduce you to Ross and Barry and everyone,” Arin grins, moving in to wrap his arms around Dan's skinny shoulders fondly.  “You're gonna love it out here, it's gonna be a blast!”

 

Settling is a long process.  Dan has to unpack all of his things, try and find places to put everything, while bouncing from job to job.  It gets a little better when Arin offers him a spot on his YouTube show, but he still has to work a day job to get by.  He makes a lot of new friends like this, especially once he gets hired on at Maker.  But that doesn't aid his settling process, though, just makes sure it takes him longer to get adjusted.  

 

Arin introduces him to Ross the first time he makes it to LA, and as much as Ross annoys the fuck out of him, Dan finds the little Aussie weirdly endearing.  They become quick friends, and through Ross is how he meets Holly, the second supernatural to enter his life.

 

\--

 

“Dan, c’mere!” Ross called from the kitchen.  Since Dan was working out of Arin’s house part time now on top of it being his friend's place, he spent about all of his time there, hanging out with Arin and Suzy and Barry, and more increasingly with Ross.  It had been a bit weird at first, Ross being a fan of Ninja Sex Party, and having to explain the current status of the band had been kind of a bummer on their friendship at the beginning.  Dan found out just how much of a little shit Ross was very quickly, but it was also easy to see just how loving and genuine he was, too, and he and Dan became fast friends.  They were even planning on starting a show for the grumps channel, specifically so they could play games together.  It was a good set up, honestly, but a discussion for a later date.

 

Standing beside Ross is a little pastel haired pixie of a woman.  She looks warm and kind and Dan realizes this must be his fiancee, the one he was always talking so fondly about.  Ross was absolutely smitten with her.  He grins, tries to be as welcoming as he possible can.  “Hey, you must be Holly!” He greets, offering his hand out to the slim woman.  “I’m Dan.  Your fiance is a giant douchebag and I love him.”

 

Holly shakes his hand and grins, a little crooked smile that Dan would have fallen head over heels for instantly - if it weren’t for the set of sharp fangs peeking out from behind her lips.  He hauls away from her, nearly knocking himself on his ass in his haste to put distance between himself and the little vampire.  His mouth twists into a snarl and he nearly fucking growls.  He can't believe he'd just been touching her.

 

“What the  _ fuck _ , Ross?” He cries, eyes firmly on Holly.  He’s terrified to pull his gaze away, just in case she were to try to pull something.  “How could you have gotten yourself involved with a  _ monster _ ?”

 

Holly looks hurt -  _ good _ , Dan thinks,  _ monsters don’t deserve kindness _ \- but she just falls in on herself, rather than fight back against the emotional pain.  Ross, though, his face contorts into rage, completely prepared to rip Dan to shreds, and instead of dealing with the backlash of his actions, Dan flees the house, takes off to lock himself in his shitty little apartment across town.  The echos of Ross shouting after him rings in his ears the entire drive home.

 

Dan doesn't visit the Hansen house for days, after the incident.  He doesn't dare fuck this up any further for himself.  Instead, he avoids the problem entirely until Arin gets sick of calling him and texting him to no avail and just shows up at his door instead, confusion and fury fueling him.

 

“Dan, open up, I know you're in there,” he shouts from the hall, banging on the door almost frantically.  Dan manages to ignore him for nearly 10 minutes before he finally breaks, throws the door open just to shut Arin up.  He doesn't need his neighbors to be pissed off at him.  “What the  _ fuck _ is your deal!?”

 

“My deal?  My life was  _ destroyed _ by a goddamn werewolf and you guys dont have the decency to warn me that our friend is getting married to a bloodsucker?!”  Dan's furious, angry tears are starting to well up behind his eyes.  All the anger that's built up over the last 9 months is finally coming to a head, absolutely breaking Dan from the inside.  “She could turn him, or worse, she could fucking kill him!  And then we'd lose him forever!  Do you know how that feels, Arin?!  Do you know how it feels to lose someone you love unconditionally?  Because I do…”  Dan trails off into massive, heaving sobs, unable to continue.  He's angry and frustrated and still grieving the partner who'd run from him.  He's a broken man.

 

“ _ Dan… _ ” Arin breathes, pulling Dan close to him, squeezing him tight.  “Hey, man, it's gonna be alright.  Holly is absolutely harmless, doesn't have a taste for blood whatsoever.  I think the last time she fed off a human was when her mom was still alive.”

 

“Wha… what the fuck does she eat, then?  Does she feed on animals?”  Dan frowns, pulls away from Arin to display his concern and confusion.  From what he knows, from the research he'd done in the last few days, vampires needed the vitamins, minerals and proteins found most densely in blood to survive, and that  _ human _ blood was the best fit for vampires to be able to live a healthy life, though plenty of vamps managed on diets of primarily livestock blood.  It was the next closest solution, and many saw it as more humane than feeding on humans.

 

“Nah, man,” Arin sighs, shakes his head.  “They make meal replacement shakes, sort of like soylent for vamps, and I guess she's been drinking it for so long that she actually finds blood almost sickening now.  She's basically a vegan, I guess.  How do you think she lives in a house with a human, three cats, a lizard and like ten thousand birds?”

 

Dan just shrugs, ducks his head bashfully.  He'd made a rash generalization and now his friendship with Ross and potential friendship with Holly was blasted to smithereens.  All because he was a  _ fucking _ idiot.  He sighed heavily, frowning.  He felt awful.

 

“I guess I owe Holly and Ross an apology, huh?” He murmurs, looking at Arin with big, sad eyes.

 

“You're damn right you do, Leigh Daniel,” Arin scolds, the barest hint of a smile curling on his lips.  “I am so disappointed in you, young man.  Go to your room!”

 

“ _ But Daaaaaaaad~ _ ” Dan whines, bursting into giggles.  Arin follows right behind, two grown men collapsed against each other, giggling like a couple of mad men.  Arin tugs Dan in for a bone crushing hug and reassures him that everything is going to be alright.  It’s more comforting than expected.

 

\--

 

It's still a few more days until Dan ends up back at Arin’s place at the same time as Ross, the two of them doing a careful dance to avoid each other until Arin and Barry get fed up with it and double cross them  _ both _ to get them locked away in the grump room together.  Honestly, it’s amazing what the two managed to pull off when they put their minds to it.

 

The silence between Dan and Ross was deafening, at least to begin with.  Dan breaks first, cares more about his friendships than his pride.

 

“Look, Ross, I was a gigantic asshole and I'm so sorry, man.”

 

Ross rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.  “You weren't fucking sorry when my fiancee was crying her eyes out because you made her feel like some kind of monster!”

 

“I wasn't and that's awful of me.  That's why I want to apologize.”  Dan sighs, shakes his head.  “I was wrong to treat you and  _ especially _ Holly like that.  Neither of you deserved that, really.  I have my own problems, and it wasn’t fair of me to take those problems out on Holly.  What can I do to make things right between you and I?”

 

Ross sighs and sort of slumps a little.  It’s now that Dan notices just how tired and sad his friend looks.  The frown on his own face deepens, and he takes a step towards him, makes to hug him, before he realizes that that’s probably not what Ross wants from him right about now.

 

“The sincere apology was step one.  A hug is step two?” Ross looks up at Dan with big, sad eyes and a tiny little pout.  He looks like his best approximation of a kicked puppy.

 

Dan chuckles a little, tension leaving his body.  How could he say no to that sweet face?  He steps forward and scoops the little man up close, squeezes him tight.  “I’m so sorry,” he mumbles, face pressed into Ross’ hair.  “Really, dude, like.  I have my issues because of the whole situation with Brian, but I shouldn’t be letting that affect the way I see  _ every supernatural  _ I come into contact with.  And I’m so sorry for letting you two get caught in that.”

 

Ross sort of shrugs, and looks up at Dan.  “Listen.  As long as you make your apologies to Holly, you and I are fine.  I’m not mad at you, Dan, I was just upset and disappointed that you’d act like that.  I appreciate you being a grown up about it, even if we had to be forced together by Barry and Arin.”

 

Dan just nods sincerely and holds Ross at an arm’s length.  “I love you, bud.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, you big sap.”

 

\--

 

It takes a little bit of doing to make it work with their schedules, but finally, Dan finds a night that Ross isn’t recording with someone else and he’s not scheduled at Maker and Holly’s gonna be home without any plans to work.  He sits in his car for a solid 5 minutes before he can even so much as make himself approach the door, and once he’s done that, it’s another few moments before he raises his hand to knock.  

  
Ross greets him, unsurprisingly - considering they’d made the plans for Dan to visit, he had been expecting the company.

 

“Hey, Holl, can you come here?” Ross calls into the house while he leads Dan into their living room.  Holly emerges from their bedroom, and immediately Dan’s stomach turns.  The circles under her eyes are deeper and darker than before, her skin sallow and her hair dull.  She looks  _ dead _ , as much as Dan doesn’t want to think such thoughts.  She freezes when she spots Dan, though, and his stomach just twists tighter.  She was scared of him.   _ Him! _  Of all people!  

 

“Holly, Dan’s got some things he wants to say to you,” Ross tells her, his voice gentle and warm.  It’s unlike Dan has ever heard from him.  Holly just nods at him, silent as a wraith, and slips further into the living room.  As she steps in, though, Ross makes his retreat into the kitchen, and Dan feels a bit panicked for a second, but it’s apparent so does Holly, just from the way her already pale skin drains of what little color it had.  Dan waits until Ross has cleared the room, though, and makes sure he’s still giving Holly plenty of space and isn’t taking a threatening stance before he starts talking.

 

“Holly, I’m so fucking sorry about the way I talked to you at Arin’s, that shit was fucking unacceptable.”  He makes himself small, non threatening, sincere as possible.  He really wants this to work out.

 

“Well, you’re right about that,” Holly mumbles, holding tension in her shoulders.  “I just- I don’t understand why you did it, like.  You don’t even know me, I’m just your friend’s fiancee, a woman you had never met.  Why would you treat me that way?”

 

Dan shakes his head, frowns deeply.  “Did Ross ever tell you why I moved to LA?”  When Holly shakes her head with a soft frown, he sighs.  “My partner was attacked by a werewolf, and he bailed in the aftermath.  Everything reminded me of him, and I couldn’t live like that.  I was driving myself crazy, thinking the creature that turned my life upside down was still roaming those streets and it could be anyone I passed by and I would never be able to find out who was responsible.  It kept me up at night.  So I decided, to hell with it, I’m moving.  I can’t stay here.  I left what little I had in New York behind to be able to come out here and start over again.”

 

Holly’s frown deepens.  “You left your whole life behind because you got dumped?”

 

Dan sighs, shakes his head at her.  “You’re not understanding.  My partner  _ ran away _ from me, because he was attacked by a werewolf.  How would you feel if you woke up tomorrow morning and found your bed empty and Ross outside, getting into a cab, and screaming at you that he was leaving you for your own good?  That you were safer and better off without him?”  He’s met by an unsurprising silence.  Holly’s eyes are wide and sad, her mouth gaping just the slightest bit.  

 

“That's some serious trauma,” Holly murmurs, shaking her head.  “Have you sought out counseling?  I went to therapy after my mom passed because it stirred up a lot of my trauma and I couldn't hardly function.  There's no shame in it, Danny, really.  I could even get you in contact with my therapist, she specializes in supernaturals and those affected by supernaturals.  She’s very good at what she does.”

 

Dan stares for a second, somehow taken aback by how sweet and kind and worried she is for him.  “Why do you care so much?  I hurt you in a big, unforgivable way.”

 

“Dan,” Holly sighs, frowning lightly.  “God, I forgive you.  You hurt me, yes, and for  _ weeks _ I was distraught because I thought my husband was friends with a giant racist that hated supes, and Ross tried so hard to make me see that you were a good guy, but I still wondered what I had done to trigger such disgust from you.  But here you are, trying to make things right, like a civil adult.  And you reacted in such a way because of your own trauma, and while that's not an excuse for shitty behavior, it  _ is  _ a factor to be considered, and I can forgive you for it because you're trying to fix what you did in a moment of panic.  I can understand that, because I’ve been there, so of course I forgive you.”  

 

Dan relaxes, flops down onto the sofa and looks up at Holly with big eyes.  “You’re so kind, Holly,” he murmurs, smiling.  “Really.  You’re way too good to be with  _ Ross _ .”

 

Holly laughs, big and loud and joyous, and Dan watches the way her mouth stretches into a big smile and exposes her little white teeth, and her eyes crinkle closed and her nose scrunches just a bit, and Dan’s done for.   _ She’s so beautiful _ , he thinks, his heart skipping a beat in his chest.   _ Too beautiful to ever look at me _ .  Dan shakes the thought out of his head - this was his best friend’s fiancee, for crying out loud.  That was about the worst person he could develop a crush on.   
  
“Oh, Dan,” she giggles, shaking her head, before she reaches out to pat his bicep.  “You’re a really good man.  I 100% believe everything Ross  has told me about you now, god.”

 

“Everything good in here now?” Ross cuts in, sticking his head into the room with big blue eyes.  He’s got  a little hopeful grin on his face and Dan can’t help himself, he gets up and charges the little guy, ruffles his hair and gives him a big, firm hug.

 

“Yeah, yeah, we’re cool now, everything’s good,” Dan tells him, a big grin on his own face.  He looks over at Holly for approval and she’s grinning too, her pale skin flushing just the slightest bit.  Dan’s got it so fucking bad for her already.

 

Danny ends up spending most of the afternoon at Ross’ place, sat square between the couple in the living room - not by his choice, though, they’d insisted on taking either side of him, instead of sitting together, and Dan finds that Holly is surprisingly warm for a vampire, soft and warm and smells sweet like cherry blossoms.  It really doesn’t help his infatuation  _ at all _ .

 

\--

 

Dan spends more time around Holly as time goes on.  She visits Arin’s place while Ross is there to record, and Ross and Holly invite Dan over more often for dinner or movie nights, and Dan even starts inviting them to his shitty little apartment to hang out sometimes.  Dan tries to make sure Ross is nearby, though, when he spends time with Holly - he’d rather keep himself accountable for his actions by reminding himself that she’s about to get married to him.

 

Their wedding is adorable, honestly.  Ross wears his stupid blue suit and Dan teases the hell out of him for it because that’s what best friends are for, but Holly wears a gorgeous little cream colored lace dress that takes Dan’s breath away, makes him forget why Dan was teasing Ross  in the first place.  The ceremony is short and sweet and to the point, and the reception is the same, their friends drinking and dancing and eating on the stupid fucking space ship cake that Dan can’t believe is actually real.  The happy couple cling to each other like the universe might pull them apart at any second, and watching Ross kiss on her makes Dan’s chest tighten.  He wishes he could kiss her like that, make her smile the way Ross does.  But he squashes those feelings for the time being, doesn’t want to ruin this fresh marriage.  He doesn’t want to ruin their marriage  _ at all _ , wants his friends to be happy together the way they are now for the rest of their lives.  But that doesn’t mean the jealous little monster in his chest doesn’t try to make an appearance watching the way Ross holds her.  He leaves early in the night, citing exhaustion from his recent bout with illness as an excuse, and bundles himself into his bed and cries late into the night.

 

\--

 

Moving their office from being in Arin’s house to being in an actual office building is a huge ordeal, it takes weeks and so many trips to finally have set up.  Dan spends all of his days off work in the new office, helping people assemble desks and set up computers and organize games and systems and controllers.  But they manage, and settle in quickly.  It makes recording a much more streamlined process, and it means that Barry isn’t doing the editing for the show on a laptop in Arin’s living room anymore, and Arin and Suzy don’t have people traipsing in and out of their house at all hours of the day, and it makes everyone’s lives easier.  Holly keeps most of her things at home, but on occasion she’ll bring a project with her to work on in the office on the days that she’s Ross’ ride to and from the space.  On those days, if Dan isn’t busy recording or skyping with Brian in an attempt to work on the next Ninja Sex Party album, Dan will plop himself down across from Holly and just watch what she’s doing, making idle chatter.  He loves being around her, has fallen so hard, so fast for the sweet little vamp, and it makes him feel guilty about developing such real feelings in Brian’s absence.  Some days, he spends hours on the phone with Brian, begging and pleading with him to move to LA.  But despite all his tears, it never seems to work.  Brian’s unsure about returning just yet, feels he may have a good enough handle on his lycanthropy now, but he doesn’t want to risk Dan’s life and all of Dan’s new friends because he’s not as ready as he thinks.  So he’s waiting it out, just a little longer, he tells Dan, just so he can be sure no one is at risk if he moves from London to LA.

 

One day, though, Dan’s sitting on the sofa in the office, laptop perched delicately on his knees and headphones on his head when the door creaks open.  He’s got his music turned down low, so he hears the door, and frowns.  They weren’t expecting anyone, everyone that had told them they were going to be there had already showed up, were hard at work in their respective areas, including Holly, hard at work sculpting tiny figures at the kitchen table.  So Dan pulls his headphones off, sets his laptop aside, and moves to greet whoever it is that’s letting themself into the office.  He stops dead, though, when he hears a soft growl from near the door, and  a threatened little hiss from Holly behind him in return.

 

He has to move about as fast as he’s capable of doing to throw himself against Brian’s chest and throw a hand back at Holly to hold her away by her shoulder.  “Hey!  Stop it!” he shouts, but the pair keep snarling and trying to figure out how to get at each other without hurting Dan.  It’s not until Dan whistles loudly, shoving them both back firmly, that they pause and look at the human curiously.

 

“Neither of you are a threat to the other, so fucking back down!  Brian, Holly’s Ross’ wife, she’s safe, she’s not going to hurt anyone.  Holly, Brian might be a werewolf but he has self-control now, that’s the only reason he’s come back.  I love you both, I’m so in love with you both, it hurts, so the last thing I want is you two fighting right now, so fucking cut it out!”  His voice is wobbly with anger and desperation, and his admission brings about dead silence in the room.  Dan pants, a deep frown on his mouth.

 

Holly and Brian both tense, but stand down, staring at Dan in awe.  Brian shifts back down into a half-human form, wraps his arms around Dan’s waist and burrows his  face in the skinny man’s neck.  “I missed you.  I’m sorry.  I love you, too, you know that.  I won’t interfere, though, I didn’t know you were seeing someone else.  I wish you would have told me,” he mumbles, already starting to pull away from Dan with such disappointment on his face that Dan’s heart nearly breaks.

 

“He’s not seeing anyone else,” Holly breathes, breaking in before Dan can respond and staring at Dan with her eyes wide.  Her pupils are dilated like crazy, so wide that there’s only the faintest ring of green around her massive pupils.  “I didn’t know he felt that way about me until just now.”  

 

Dan gulps - in his haste to calm the fight, he’d admitted his love for Holly, something she’d not been aware of, something he’d been actively trying to hide from her for months now.  He grimaces a little in his attempt to smile at her.  “Uh, y-yeah.  I love you, Holls.  B-but you’re way too good for me, plus you’re married, so I figured it was something I just needed to sort on my own, but it just never went away and so I’ve been trying to hide it.  I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable,” he shakes his head and folds in on himself, looking sheepish, but beating himself up inside for being so reckless.  “I promise I’ll keep it better under wraps from now on.  Don’t wanna make things weird.”

 

Holly huffs softly and moves in closer, grabs Dan’s face in both hands.  He’s briefly worried she’s preparing to smack the shit out of him, before she leans up on her tiptoes and places the most delicate kiss on his lips that he’s ever experienced.  Dan’s hands find her hips easily, kissing her back deep and lovingly, trying to show her just how much she means to him.  Behind him, Brian growls low in his chest, jealousy making him feel mean.  Holly flips him off for Dan, both of them smiling against each other’s mouths when Brian ‘hmph’s and moves to flop down on the couch alone.  Dan shakes his head with a roll of his eyes and ducks down to kiss Holly one more time before he trots off to Brian’s side.  He doesn’t let the man get a word in, just presses in and kisses his partner, long and deep and maybe a little harsh.  Brian grunts a little but takes Dan’s hand and squeezes his fingers while they kiss.

 

“I missed you, Dan,” Brian sighs once Dan backs off.  “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back.”

 

“You fucking should be,” Dan mumbles, kissing all over Brian’s face.  “You left me here, you flipped my life upside down.  But if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be out here right now, I wouldn’t have done this.  So thank you for being a giant dick.  You changed everything and it worked out.”

 

Brian laughs, shakes his head and pulls Dan closer, just wants the proximity to his partner.  “So what do you plan to do about Holly?  Are you going to date or anything?”

 

Dan shrugs, kisses the bridge of Brian’s nose.  “I don’t know yet.  I’ll have to talk to her.  But I’m dating  _ you _ , and that’s what you should preoccupy yourself with.  Just because I love her, doesn’t mean I love you any less.”

 

“I know, I know,” Brian sighs, leaning up into Dan’s gentle little touches.  “I’m jealous as all hell about this, but I’ll work on it.  I promise.  I know you’re more than capable of balancing yourself between us if that’s what you really want.”

 

\--

 

Arin ends up giving Brian the job of managing the Game Grumps social media once he’s finally settled with Dan in his little apartment.  They’re planning on apartment hunting soon, because this one is much too small for the both of them, but it’s a good place to start.  Without a place for all of Brian’s accumulated shit among  _ Dan’s _ accumulated shit, though, Dan’s little one-bedroom is kind of a tight fit, and leaves the pair feels a tad claustrophobic for the time being.  They do their best to make the most of it, though.

 

The first time Holly calls Dan her boyfriend, about a week after the big kiss, Dan nearly keels over in glee.  He’s all sprawled out across Brian’s lap during his break during recording, being dramatic as all hell, just because that’s how he is, when Holly slips into the office and grins at the pair.  “How’s my favorite boyfriend?” she coos, gliding over to him to kiss his mouth.  Dan’s mouth curls up in a massive smile, and he kicks his feet a little to work out his excess joy.  

 

“‘M good,” he mumbles, biting his lip as he looks up at her from under his eyelashes.  Brian, above him, just groans, big and just as dramatic as Dan is being.

 

“Oh come the fuck on, you’re so extra.  I’ve been calling you my boyfriend for years and you've never done that.”  Brian was frowning and stroking his hand over Dan’s curls, fighting down the jealousy in his chest.     
  
“Aww, Brian!”  Dan crooned, reaching up to stroke Brian’s cheek with a big, fond thumb.  “You know you’re my favorite boyfriend.”  He drags the older man down for a deep kiss, smiling against his mouth.  

 

Holly laughs and leans in to kiss Brian’s cheek.  “Don’t be jealous, Bri, he’s all yours.  I have to help Ross out with some of his shit, so I’ll be out of the way.”

 

“God, you think I can be jealous of you?” Brian sighs, leaning into the sweet little kiss she’s giving him.  “You’re way too kind, Holly, you’re probably the best person for us to do this with.”  Brian laughs a little when Holly blushes and smacks his arm in response before wandering off to find Ross.   
  
Just because Holly and Dan are dating, though, doesn’t mean that Ross lets up on his teasing.  The worst, however, is all the dog jokes that get thrown Brian’s way.  Ross laughs almost maniacally when he gets the opportunity to compare Brian to a puppy, and Brian’s sick of it real soon, honestly, but he really doesn’t fight back much because,  _ wow _ , the little guy is cute.  He feels bad about having a crush on his boyfriend’s girlfriend’s husband, but really, what kind of a situation did he get himself into where this could even be a problem?  He’ll be damned if he let’s Ross get any sort of hint that he likes him, though, not on his watch.

 

\--

 

When Dan comes home with the news that he’s quitting his job at Maker, Holly immediately decides that after his last shift, she’s throwing him a celebration party.  Dan fusses, tries to tell her it’s not necessary, but she insists, and after getting the 80’s movie slow clap of his dreams when he’s leaving the office for the very last time, he drives on back to Ross and Holly’s place, only to be greeted by his closest friends and his partners.  Holly made a banner and everything.  It would almost be embarrassing if it weren’t so cute.  Brian grills out for them, since Holly lacks the knowledge on cooking meat and Ross is just a little too scatterbrained to be trusted with a grill.  The young married couple put themselves in charge of alcohol and Holly makes plenty of sides to go along with the burgers and hot dogs Brian makes.  Dan lets himself go, really goes wild for him these days, and has a hefty glass of red wine with dinner, which is enough to make his head swim pleasantly.  He ends up spending most of the night trying to shower Brian and Holly in as many kisses as he can manage.  Around midnight, Holly puts him to bed in the guest room to let him sleep it off while the party winds down.  Brian sticks around, helps Holly clean up the mess from the party, and makes sure she and Ross get themselves to bed before he slinks in with Dan, snuggling up close to the skinny human... _ his  _ skinny human.

 

\--

 

Brian’s first moon in LA is a little rough.  He’s totally lost track of time, honestly, hasn’t been paying attention to the days because he’s way too focused on working on the next NSP album with Dan, and and ends up wolfing out in the middle of the grump space.  Holly’s there, and there’s a moment of deep tension between the two - Brian’s wolf mind takes her non-human scent as a threat, and his hackles raise and he growls deeply at her, taking a defensive stance.  Holly just reacts, throws a low hiss right back at him, baring fangs, almost daring him to try anything with her.  It takes Dan throwing himself between them,  _ again _ , to make them calm down.  Brian spends most of the night snuggled up on Dan’s lap - at least, as much as a hulking 350 pound, seven foot tall wolf man can snuggle on any mortal’s lap.  He’s basically just a massive wolf who thinks he’s a tiny pup.  Holly has to scoot in a little at a time for Brian to stay comfortable with it.  He explains to her that it’s nothing against her - he’d just spent the last year in the outskirts of London, where the scent of other supernaturals meant almost certain death.  He didn’t elaborate much more than that, and it worried Dan to think about the kind of bullshit he got into while he was in London.

 

Eventually, though, Brian lets Holly bury her fingers in his shaggy grey fur, allows himself to sprawl across them both with his tongue hanging out of his mouth contentedly.  Dan spends a solid ten minutes rubbing his belly and laughing when his back leg kicks gleefully in the process.  Holly finds herself sitting back to watch the two men, so goddamn fond of them both.  Maybe her feelings are different for each of them, but she does love them deeply, and this sweet, intimate moment with them together is the most beautiful thing Holly could ever ask for.  When Dan turns that big, shining smile on her, she thrusts herself into the moment and kisses him deeply, an attempt to convey all the emotions building in her chest at the moment.  When she’s done, she pulls back and makes sure to bump her forehead against Brian’s and scratches him behind the ears idly, little tender shows of affection.  Brian’s heart melts, leans into her little touches with as much of a smile as he can manage in his canine form.  It’s official - he loves her, damnit.  So maybe she doesn’t get his dick hard, but that doesn’t mean she can’t make his heart flutter in his chest like a lovesick school boy.  Oh well, he thinks, shrugging internally.  He’ll just have to show her his feelings through platonic affections, he decides, leaning up to press his big, wet nose against her cheek.

 

\--

 

Ross and Brian dance around each other for nearly 6 weeks before Brian  _ finally _ decides he’s going to be the adult and confess his feelings.  Holly’s grateful as all hell when he sits down to tell her and Dan about it, because she, quote, “was getting tired of Ross pining like a schoolgirl.”  It gives Brian a lot of the much needed courage to confront Ross in the office late one night, when most of the rest of the team is already gone for the evening.  Ross is just getting up to stretch and take a break from storyboarding Gameoverse, and Brian decides that’s his time to strike.  He corners Ross against his office door with what would usually be a predatory grin, though at the moment it looks like a constipated smile.

 

“What’s up, Bri?” Ross asks with a little yawn, looking totally disinterested in Brian’s unusual behavior.  He’s been back on his ADD meds lately, though, to keep focused on Gameoverse, so it’s a little less than surprising that he’s absolutely not phased.  He was pretty vacant and slow when he wasn’t actively working on something.  It made Brian’s heart break to see him lack that teasing energy he normally carried.

 

“Hey, so.  I wanted to ask you something,” Brian starts, his voice a little shaky.  That’s  _ more _ than unusual, though, and finally grabs Ross’ attention, makes the little Aussie frown a little.  

 

“Go for it, man,” he encourages, trying to smile softly at his friend.  He even reaches out to put a gentle hand on Brian’s bicep.  “Ask away.”

 

“Uh, well.  So, you know how your wife is dating my partner?”

 

Ross snorts, almost reflexively.  “Yeah, dude, considering I could hear the two of them fucking in the guest room last night, I’d say I’m well aware your partner is boning my wife.”  Brian blushes, and that’s strike three on the unusual scale for Ross.  He squeezes his hand on Brian’s bicep and tilts his head a little.  “Alright dude, what’s going on?  You got a thing for my wife, too?”

 

“No!”  Brian shouts, almost too fast.  “Uh, no, man, I’m about as gay as they come, Holly’s the last person I want to think about like that.  No, um.  I’ve got a thing for  _ you _ .”

 

Ross freezes, stares at Brian with an open mouth.  His brain is running in about 10 different directions with this information, but outwardly, he’s not exactly able to process it.  It takes a hot second before he can even think to close his mouth.  That’s his meds all over, though.

 

“Listen, Ross, if you’re not into it, that’s fine, I’ll leave it alone, I just really needed to get it off my chest, because even Holly could see just how much it was weighing on me lately.”  Brian shrugs a little and smiles wryly at his friend.

 

“Dude…” Ross breathes, and before Brian can react to what’s happening, he’s pressing forward and kissing Brian on the mouth, firm but sweet, a smile starting to rise on his lips.  He braces his hands on either side of Brian’s head and kisses him deeper and Brian gasps, starts to smile himself, and wraps his arms around Ross’ soft little waist and hauls him in to press their fronts together, not leaving an inch of space between them.  By the time Ross pulls back, he’s giggling, and Brian can’t help but laugh at just how giddy the young man is.

 

“Does that mean you like me too?”  Brian jokes, leaning in to kiss Ross’ cheek.  The man squirms at the sensation of Brian’s scruff against his smooth skin, but it doesn’t dampen the smile on his face.  If anything, it only makes it brighter.

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?  I let you spoon-feed me pudding on a live stream, do you think I’d do that for just anyone?”

 

“Ross… Have you met yourself?  You have less shame than I do.”  Brian shakes his head and strokes his hand up and down Ross’ side, watches the kid squirm and giggle when he prods a little, ticklish as all hell.  “I wouldn’t be surprised to see you do that with  _ anyone _ on the crew.”

 

“...Shut up.”

 

Brian can’t help but laugh and lean in to kiss him, soft and slow and oh so gentle.  “You’re fucking precious, dude.”

 

Holly’s overjoyed when Ross brings Brian home that evening.  She already curled up on the couch with Dan when the two men enter the house, but the moment she notices they’re holding hands, she shoots up off the couch, nearly dislodging Dan and certainly startling him, as he’d been dozing off against her shoulder, and runs to gather them both up in a big hug, kissing them each on the cheek.  Brian blushes, which Ross  _ immediately _ takes advantage of, teasing and taunting the poor man.  

 

“Ooooh, look at Brian, he’s got a crush on Holly!” he coos, poking Brian’s side with a huge grin.

 

“Ross, that’s really not cool man, what the fuck,” Brian replies, frowning at his brand-new boyfriend, the flush on his cheeks only deepening at Ross’ teasing.

 

“Brian!  That’s so cute!”  Dan croons from the couch, folding his hands over his heart sarcastically.  His grin is wide and crooked and Brian’s so damn fond of him but right now he couldn’t feel more betrayed.

 

“Dan, seriously, stop,” he complains, moving to flop down on top of his lanky boyfriend with a displeased grunt.  “That's really not cool of you guys to imply that I have feelings for a woman.  Especially when that woman is my boyfriend's wife and my other boyfriend's girlfriend.”

 

“Briiiiiiiaaaaaaaan!” Ross giggles, hopping up onto the couch and ruffling Brian's hair.  “You can admit it to us, you're in the presence of three other massive queers.  There's no need to deny yourself a lovely lady like Holly!”

 

“You both are the absolute worst,” Brian grunts to a chorus of laughter from both of his boyfriends.

 

\--

 

While Dan keeps Brian busy all day on his birthday, having a writing session before a handful of hours in the studio, Holly takes the time to bake him a cake.  She's been learning how to decorate cakes specifically for this moment, wants to win over the stoic scientist according to the old saying - the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

 

The cake itself was chocolate, light and moist, two nine inch rounds.  She was rather proud of the way they turned out, and after trimming off the rounded tops and letting them cool, she frosts the bottom layer with a vanilla butter cream and settles the top layer on it.  The hardest part is getting the black fondant to lay flat on the cake, but once she manages to get that all settled out, it's smooth sailing from there.  She uses some bright yellow frosting and a piping bag to paint out the delicate dragons from Brian's ninja suit on the top of the cake.  They set well when she tucks the cake in the fridge and goes on to make sure the house is clean and ready for Brian to come home to.

 

By the time Ross, Brian and Dan get home for the day, it's late in the evening, and Holly has already put in an order for their favorite sushi place.  They all absolutely chow down and Brian looks so content and happy that Holly’s stomach is doing gleeful backflips.  She really hopes the cake will seal the deal, give her the in to tell Brian just how much she loves him.  She hopes he lets her kiss him.  She gives the boys time to let their stomachs settle before she even thinks about bringing up the cake.  But once they’ve moved out to the living room and sprawled out to watch the new episode of Game of Thrones, Holly calls for them to wait while she ducks back into the kitchen.  She takes her time, delicately pressing black candles into the fondant so they ring the entire cake, and lights them all as fast as she can before she brings it out to the living room, flicking off the lights as she goes.

 

“Happy birthday to you~” she sings, Ross and Danny quickly joining her.  Danny shows them up, of course, but Holly tries to ignore that while she settles the cake before Brian on the coffee table, grinning at the way his mouth drops in awe.  “Make a wish, Bri,” she encourages, smiling fondly at him.  He pauses and looks over the cake, and then up at Holly with a crooked little grin, and leans forward to blow out the candles.  Ross and Danny cheer wildly while Brian smiles up at Holly.

 

“What’d ya wish for?!” Ross asks, bouncing in his seat.  

 

“Shut up!  If he tells, it won’t come true!” Dan shoots back, reaching around Brian to smack him upside the head.  He complains quietly, but doesn’t fight back.  Brian just pulls himself up onto his feet and rounds the coffee table, stepping up to Holly slowly.  One of his hands finds her hip, the other reaching delicately to touch her cheek.

 

“May I?” he asks quietly, tilting his head a little, looking at her with big blue eyes.  Just like Ross’, Holly can’t say no them, and she nods, waiting to see what he’ll do.  Brian leans in and oh so gently brushes his lips against Holly’s.  His face is scratchy, like Dan’s, and Holly giggles a little before leaning into the kiss, bracing her hands on Brian’s broad chest.  Brian inhales in surprise and moves to wrap both arms around Holly’s waist, tugging her closer while he deepens the kiss.  From the couch, Dan and Ross hoot and holler, cheering them on.

 

“I love you, Brian,” Holly murmurs against his lips, grinning softly.  She bumps her nose up against his, eyes fluttering a little.  “Truly and honestly, just as much as I love those two idiots.”

 

Brian laughs, kisses Holly oh so delicately.  Then he turns to his boyfriends, staring from the couch.  “My wish came true,” he tells them before turning back to Holly and giving her another deep, sweet kiss.  She laughs against his mouth and lets him do as he pleases.  “I love you, too, Holls,” Brian sighs, his grin spreading to face-breaking proportions.  “I never thought I’d love a woman the way I love you, but here we are.”

 

“There’s always a first for everything,” Holly breathes, peppering a few more little kisses on Brian’s face.  

 

“Can we have cake now?!” Ross butts in, starting to kick his feet a little.  Dan reaches over to slap a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide.

 

“Ross!  Let them have their fucking moment!”

  
Holly and Brian just laugh in unison, and Holly shakes her head before she goes off to collect plates and forks and a knife big enough to cut the cake.  When she gets back, Brian’s standing over it, taking  _ way _ too many pictures while Ross and Dan heckle him about it.  “Boys, let the man take his pictures, it’s not like you two have any sort of culture,” she teases, setting the forks and plates aside and sidling up alongside Brian to rub his back and kiss his cheek.  Brian posts the picture that turns out the best and gives Holly the credit she's due while she cuts the cake, serving up four pieces for them and tucking the rest of the cake away in the fridge so it stays fresh.  They settle down and eat their treat and watch their episode of Game of Thrones in peace, all four content as all hell with the current state of their lives.

 

\--

 

In the end, Brian and Dan quit their search for a new apartment and move into what had been the guest room of Holly and Ross’ place so the little quad can be together at any given time.  It's nice having such a close knit support group, they find, and living together only brings them closer, physically and emotionally.  Besides, it saved them all money and helped Holly more easily afford Pappy’s room at the nursing home.

 

Brian and Danny decide to get married about 6 months after they move in with Holly and Ross.  Well, Danny bring it up one morning in bed, and the next afternoon, Brian comes home with an engagement ring that he slips onto Dan's finger, then kisses him sweetly.  It leaves Dan reeling for a few days before they can sit down and make firm plans for their wedding.  It ends up just being a little courthouse wedding, only their closest friends in attendance.  Hell, Dan’s parents don't even make it because they plan it on such short notice.  Ross and Holly sign as the witnesses, symbolic of their own roles in Dan and Brian's life together.  Afterwards they have a little party at the office and call it a night.  Dan and Brian's “honeymoon,” if one could even call it that, ends up being a trip to Portland to work on signing CDs at the CD Baby office.  They still find time to go out and have fun while they're in Portland, though.

 

Once they're back and they start meeting new people and everything, Ross prides himself on making new acquaintances uncomfortable by referring to Brian or Dan as “my boyfriend's husband.”  It's his rite of passage for new friends or whatever, but really, it just seems sadistic when you see the shocked and scandalized looks on people's faces in reaction to such a statement.  And when Dan and Brian introduce the TWRP dudes to Holly and Ross, there's a moment of silence before they just sort of roll with it.  Well, everyone but Meouch, who makes a giant joke out of the whole situation, but what else is honestly expected from that doofy fuck boy?  They're all good guys, though, and they decide if such a setup makes their friends happy, they aren't gonna get involved in it.

 

All in all, the four find themselves living a chaotic, stressful life, but they live it together, which is what matters the most.  They find the strength to push through in numbers, more support from more sides.  And the love they feel for each other raises them all up to be the people they'd been trying to be, which is what counts the most, right?


End file.
